KHYBER AGENCY - Traders’ community at the Pak-Afghan sharing border has rejected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s decree banning the entry of Pakistani trucks to Afghanistan and demanded immediate lifting of all restrictions on bilateral trade.
Addressing a press conference at Landi Kotal Press Club here on Tuesday, All Trailers Owners Association President Yousaf Afridi said that if the Afghan government materialized the policy of not allowing Pakistani trucks into its country than it would not only suffers the trader community in Pakistan but would also affect the trade between the two neighbouring countries.
He said that the density of trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan via Torkham had already decreased with the introduction of the curbing policy of the Afghan government and Ghani’s decree would further cause price hiking of daily usage commodities in Afghanistan.
The transport association representatives flanked by the vice-president and general sectary expressed ignorance of the causes of the strict policy, the Afghan govt threatened to be implemented. They said that the trade agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan which has been expired recently needs to be renewed.
“The Afghan government has already restricted and limited their movements inside Afghanistan and with imposing of the unfair policy will equalling to deprive more than five thousands families of transporters of three-time meals,” Afridi maintained.
He added that since long the transporter had been subjected to worst kind of injustice from Karachi to Kabul.
Afridi urged the two countries to settle their issues through dialogue and suggested to form a committee comprising representatives of both countries that could supervise all the matters.
When Naib Tehsildar Torkham Shamsul Islam was contacted on the matter, he said that crossing of the Torkham Border was continued as in routine and no information of imposing of blocking Pakistani trailers at the border was received from the Afghan government.